A Demographic Analysis of Late Bronze Age Canaan: Ancient

i A DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF LATE BRONZE AGE CANAAN: ANCIENT POPULATION ESTIMATES AND INSIGHTS THROUGH ARCHAEOLOGY by Titus Michael Kennedy 4812-032-4 Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY in the subject BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA Supervisor: PROF COENRAAD SCHEEPERS Co-supervisor: DR SHIMON GIBSON 2013 ii I declare that: A DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF LATE BRONZE AGE CANAAN: ANCIENT POPULATION ESTIMATES AND INSIGHTS THROUGH ARCHAEOLOGY is my own original and unaided work that has not been submitted to any other institution for assessment purposes. All sources and references have been acknowledged. Titus Michael Kennedy UNISA Student # 48120324 September 26, 2013 __________________ ___________________ SIGNATURE DATE iii ABSTRACT A Demographic Analysis of Late Bronze Age Canaan: Ancient Population Estimates and Insights through Archaeology by Titus Michael Kennedy This thesis is a demographic analysis of Late Bronze Age Canaan (ca. 1550/1500-1200/1150 BCE), undertaken through the use of archaeological and anthropological data. The purpose is to establish estimates for the settlement population, nomadic population, nuclear family size, house size, sex ratio, and life expectancy of the people of Canaan during the Late Bronze Age. Previous studies have not addressed these issues in detail, nor had data from the entire scope of Canaan been considered, nor had a precise methodology been developed or used for estimating specific settlement populations and nomadic populations for Canaan during the Late Bronze Age. Thus, additional aspects of the thesis include the development and use of a new methodology for estimating ancient populations and a database of all of the Late Bronze Age sites in Canaan—both archaeological and textual. To accomplish these goals, the thesis uses archaeological data from excavations and surveys, texts from the Late Bronze Age, human skeletal remains from Late Bronze Age burials, demographic and ethnographic studies of various types of nomads, and methods, techniques, and observations from previous relevant studies. The primary objectives are to 1) obtain individual settlement, nomadic, and total population estimates for Canaan in the Late Bronze Age that are as accurate as possible based on the currently available data, along with additional demographic estimates of life expectancy and sex ratio, 2) propose a new methodology for estimating settlement populations in the ancient world, 3) present a catalogue and map of all of the sites in Canaan that were inhabited during the Late Bronze Age, 4) illuminate demographic trends during the Late Bronze Age in Canaan. The implications of the results may lead to a modified demographic view of Canaan and its sub-regions during the Late Bronze Age. Key Words: Amarna Letters; Ancient Population; Apiru; Archaeology; Burials; Canaan; Canaanite; Conquest; Demographic Archaeology; Demography; Domestic Architecture; Household Archaeology; Family Archaeology; GIS; Israel; Jordan; Late Bronze Age; Lebanon; Levant; Life Expectancy; Nomad; Palestine; Population Estimate; Shasu; Settlement; Syria; Topographical Lists; 18th Dynasty; 19th Dynasty. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank everyone who has contributed their expertise, advice, encouragement, and support. To my supervisors, Prof. Scheepers and Dr. Gibson, thank you for your guidance, input, suggestions, advice, and support which influenced my research, improved my presentation of the material, and helped me finish my project. To two of my mentors in archaeology, Paul and Bryant, thank you for your valuable insights, critiques, comments, and instruction over the years which fostered my interested in archaeology, inspired me, and allowed me to acquire the necessary skills and techniques to conduct this research. To Stephen, thank you for your support and valuable advice throughout my studies. To Larry, thank you for your excellent language and editing skills which improved the clarity and organization of my thesis. To Joel, thank you for opening your home to me and visiting countless archaeological sites and several museums with me, helping to advance my research to the next level. To the many archaeologists and scholars who offered their input and suggestions, I thank you all for offering your knowledge. To my father, thank you for your constant encouragement and wisdom which helped me persevere to the end. Finally, I thank God for the opportunity and ability to undertake and complete this project. v CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 1 1.2 RESEARCH QUESTION 5 1.3 AIM OF THE STUDY 6 1.4 METHODOLOGY OVERVIEW 7 1.4.1 Methodology for Settlement Population 1.4.2 Life Expectancy and Gender Distribution Estimates 1.4.3 Types of Settlements 1.4.4 Structure of the Thesis 1.5 LITERATURE REVIEW: PREVIOUS DEMOGRAPHIC STUDIES 19 1.5.1 Primary Sources 1.5.2 Secondary Sources 1.6 THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE LATE BRONZE AGE 26 1.7 THE GEOGRAPHICAL LIMITS OF CANAAN DEFINED 28 1.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 28 CHAPTER 2: BOUNDARIES OF CANAAN IN THE LATE BRONZE AGE 30 2.1 INTRODUCTION 30 2.2.1 The Area of Canaan According to Egyptian Texts 2.2.2 Canaan According to Texts of the Northern Levant and Mesopotamia 2.2.3 The Extent of Canaan According to Canaanite Texts 2.2.4 Borders of Canaan According to the Hebrew Bible 2.3 THE VIEW OF GEOGRAPHICAL CANAAN IN SCHOLARSHIP 37 2.4 PROPOSED BOUNDARIES OF LATE BRONZE AGE CANAAN 39 CHAPTER 3: HOUSE SIZE IN LATE BRONZE AGE CANAAN 42 3.1 INTRODUCTION 42 3.2 AVERAGE HOUSE SIZE IN LATE BRONZE AGE CANAAN 42 3.3 THE MULTI-STORY HOUSE IN LATE BRONZE AGE CANAAN 48 3.4 HOUSE TYPES AT LATE BRONZE AGE EMAR 51 vi 3.5 VARIABILITY IN “HOUSE” SIZES IN CANAAN AND 53 HOUSING COMPLEXES 3.6 DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE IN CANAAN FROM THE 56 HEBREW BIBLE 3.7 RESIDENCES OF PRIESTS AND OFFICIALS 58 3.8 CONCLUSION ABOUT HOUSE SIZE 60 CHAPTER 4: FAMILY AND HOUSEHOLD SIZE IN LATE BRONZE 61 AGE CANAAN 4.1 INTRODUCTION 61 4.2 DOMESTIC SLAVES IN LATE BRONZE AGE CANAAN 61 4.3 FAMILY SIZE IN LATE BRONZE AGE CANAAN FROM 62 ANCIENT TEXTS 4.3.1 Alalakh 4.3.2 Emar 4.3.3 Ugarit 4.3.4 Amarna 4.3.5 Conclusions from the Family Data 4.4 GARRISON SIZE 71 4.5 PRIESTS AND TEMPLE “HOUSEHOLD” POPULATION 74 4.6 CONCLUSION 74 CHAPTER 5: LIFE EXPECTANCY AND SEX RATIO IN LATE BRONZE 76 AGE CANAAN 5.1 INTRODUCTION TO LIFE EXPECTANCY AND SEX RATIO 76 FOR CANAAN 5.2 LIFE EXPECTANCY AND SEX RATIO METHODOLOGY 77 5.3 RELEVANT COMPARATIVE STUDIES FROM THE 78 ANCIENT WORLD 5.4 DIFFICULTIES IN ANALYZING AND OBTAINING BURIAL DATA 82 5.5 LIFE EXPECTANCY AND SEX RATIO DATA FROM CANAAN 83 5.5.1 Azor 5.5.2 Arra vii 5.5.3 Afeq 5.5.4 West of Tell Qasile 5.5.5 Horbat Zelef Burial Cave 5.5.6 Gezer 5.5.7 Tel Dan 5.5.8 Tell es-Sa’idiyeh 5.5.9 Deir el-Balah 5.5.10 Megiddo 5.5.11 Jaffa 5.5.12 Akko 5.5.13 Tel Batash 5.5.14 Baqah Valley Caves. Khirbet Umm ad-Dananir Region 5.5.15 Pella 5.5.16 Ashkelon 5.5.17 Sarepta 5.5.18 Kamid el-Loz 5.5.19 Palmahim 5.5.20 Shaar Efrayim 5.6 ANCIENT TEXTUAL DATA RELATING TO LIFE EXPECTANCY 97 5.7 COLLECTIVE DATA FROM CANAAN 98 5.8 COMPARATIVE DATA FROM THE MODERN WORLD 101 5.9 CONCLUSIONS 103 CHAPTER 6: METHODOLOGY FOR ESTIMATING SETTLEMENT 104 POPULATION IN LATE BRONZE AGE CANAAN 6.1 INTRODUCTION 104 6.2 POPULATION ESTIMATION TECHNIQUES USED FOR 104 THE ANCIENT WORLD 6.2.1 Ceramic Survey Technique 6.2.2 Carrying Capacity as a Means of Population Estimation 6.2.3 Ancient Census Lists and Estimating Population 6.2.4 Population Density Coefficient viii 6.3 METHODOLOGICAL TECHNIQUES DERIVED FROM 116 PREVIOUS STUDIES 6.3.1 Demographic Techniques Derived from Ugarit 6.3.2 Alalakh and the Use of Contemporary Records 6.3.3 Methodological Considerations from Tell Abu Salabikh 6.3.4 Nasbeh and the Use of Houses for Demographic Calculations 6.4 NEW COMPREHENSIVE METHOD FOR ESTIMATING 126 ANCIENT POPULATION 6.5 TEXTUAL INDICATORS OF POPULATION IN LATE 130 BRONZE AGE CANAAN 6.6 EXAMPLE SETTLEMENTS OF CANAAN 133 6.6.1 Example Cities and Towns of Canaan 6.6.2 Example Villages of Canaan 6.6.3 Residential Proportions of Sites in Late Bronze Age Canaan 6.7 TEST CASE CITY 138 CHAPTER 7: METHODOLOGY FOR ESTIMATING THE NOMADIC 143 POPULATION OF CANAAN 7.1 THE NOMADIC POPULATION OF CANAAN IN THE LATE 143 BRONZE AGE 7.2 CLIMATE, ENVIRONMENT, AND GEOGRAPHY 146 7.3 SIZE OF NOMADIC FAMILIES AND GROUPS 147 7.4 OVERALL NOMADIC POPULATION DENSITIES 148 FROM VARIOUS REGIONS 7.5 POPULATION DENSITIES OF GEOGRAPHIC REGION TYPES 151 7.5.1 Coastal Regions 7.5.2 Valley and River Valley Regions 7.5.3 Highland and Mountain Regions 7.5.4 Desert and Arid Regions 7.6 POPULATION DENSITIES FOR NOMADIC REGIONS OF CANAAN 154 7.7 CONCLUSION 155 CHAPTER 8: CATALOG OF LATE BRONZE AGE SITES IN CANAAN 156 ix 8.1 INTRODUCTION 156 8.2 LATE BRONZE AGE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN CANAAN 156 8.2.1 List of Archaeologically Attested Late Bronze Age Sites in Canaan 8.3 SETTLEMENTS IN CANAAN FROM LATE BRONZE AGE 182 DOCUMENTS 8.3.1 List of Textually Attested Late Bronze Age Sites in Canaan CHAPTER 9: SETTLEMENTS OF LATE BRONZE AGE CANAAN AND 196 THEIR ESTIMATED POPULATIONS 9.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR THE SETTLEMENT LIST 196 9.2 SETTLEMENT LIST AND POPULATION ESTIMATES 201 9.3 SETTLEMENT POPULATION CONCLUSIONS AND TOTALS 569 CHAPTER 10: A NOMADIC POPULATION ESTIMATE FOR LATE 574 BRONZE AGE CANAAN 10.1 COASTAL REGION NOMADIC POPULATION ESTIMATE 575 10.2 VALLEY/PLAIN REGION NOMADIC POPULATION ESTIMATE 575 10.3 DESERT/ARID REGION NOMADIC POPULATION ESTIMATE 575 10.4 HIGHLAND/MOUNTAINOUS REGION

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